Richard Curtis Film Review and Giveaway

About Time is the latest film by writer and filmmaker Richard Curtis. If you loved his other films, which include Notting Hill, Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, you will love this one. Curtis has a distinctive voice and style that weaves through his work, and this film is no exception. It’s a small film with a big life lesson, and it had me raptured.

The film revolves around 21 year-old, Tim (played by Domhnall Gleeson who lives with his eccentric, loving family in Cornwall, England. When he finds out from his dad (played by the fabulous Bill Nighy) that the men in his family can travel back in time, he decides to make the world a better place using his new found power.  But the first thing he does is return to a New Year’s party and kiss the girl, of course. After moving to London to practice law, he uses his power to fix his friend’s play to prevent professional disaster. Then he uses it to win the heart of Mary (played by Rachel McAdams), but that love takes a bit of time with time travel trying to get them in the right place at the right time. They marry and Tim continues to use his powers when necessary until he can’t anymore because some things can’t be helped. Life has to be lived. The film taught me to appreciate life, appreciate love and appreciate the people around you. In typical Curtis style, the casting is impeccable, the film locations set the tone for the dialogue and action and the music accompanies the material in superb harmony (the soundtrack includes the Cure, The Killers, Dolly Parton, Cat Powers, Ron Sexsmith and Nick Cage).

I was thrilled to be invited to a press conference with Curtis, Nighy and Gleeson last week. I will never minimize the significance of having the opportunity to meet and interview my favorite artists and meeting the three men behind this excellent film was nothing less than perfection.

I asked Curtis what inspired him to write the film, to which he replied:

The idea for the film, in fact, I can specifically remember, and often you can’t – it came from a conversation with a friend about whether or not we were happy, and we both came to the conclusion we were not as happy as we should be.  And we kept talking about what would be the perfect day.  And we said, ten years ago, we would have said we’d like to fly to Las Vegas, win $1 million, get a text saying that you’ll be nominated for an Oscar.  And now, the happiest day was the one we were having, just having lunch with each other, taking your kids to school, having dinner with the family.

And I thought how can I write a film about something as simple and it seemed to be important to me as possible.  And I thought, well, the only way is make up a huge contraption of time travel, create a character who can go anywhere, make any of these choices, and if that person chooses to go back just to a normal day, then you might be able to make the point in a way with some jokes, as well.

And I thought how can I write a film about something as simple and it seemed to be important to me as possible.  And I thought, well, the only way is make up a huge contraption of time travel, create a character who can go anywhere, make any of these choices, and if that person chooses to go back just to a normal day, then you might be able to make the point in a way with some jokes, as well.

As mentioned in my review above, the music is very compelling. I had to ask Curtis about it. Here’s what he said:

Yes, the music’s terribly important, and funnily enough, when I was doing the movie, I didn’t go back and look at any science fiction movies, but I got very obsessed by songs which I thought were on that subject.  So, Ben Folds’ song The Luckiest, and in fact, a Ben Folds song called Still Fighting It, which is a father and son song he wrote, and the Ron Sexsmith song Gold In Them Hills–and when I first handed in the movie, it said on the front page, Tim and Time, which is what I wanted to call it, or The Luckiest, or Gold In Them Hills, which is the names of those songs.

So, the songs kind of provide me with an emotional pitch so that when I’m writing I know what I’m aiming for.  And it’s something I felt in songs.

So, in Love Actually, I listened to the Mariah Carey All I Want For Christmas is You, and Notting Hill was all based around a very of a Tom Waits song called Downtown Train and a version by Everything but the Girl.  And whenever I was trying to feel how I wanted the movie to feel, I would play that song.

The conversation was riveting and I’m including just a small part here.  Perhaps I’ll run another post with the full conversation next week.

It was an honor to both see the film preview and interview these amazing men. The film will be in theaters nationwide starting November 1st.

To bide your time until then, I have an ABOUT TIME giveaway.

One (1) winner* receives:

·         Love Actually 10th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Combo Pack available 10/15)

·         About Time Soundtrack featuring music from Ellie Goulding, Ben Folds & more (Available 10/29)

·         About Time nail polish & journal

(*Winner must live in U.S.)

To win, just comment below and let me know your Richard Curtis film, and a favorite line if you can recall.

You can get additional entries by doing one of or more of the following:

– Follow The Culture Mom on Facebook.

– Follow The Culture Mom on Twitter.

– Follow The Culture Mom on Pinterest.

Winner will be selected randomly.  This giveaway will end on Monday, Monday, October 14th at noon EST. Winner will be posted here, on the Culture Mom Facebook page and via email and will have 24 hours to accept their prize.

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post.  I was provided with the film preview and interview to facilitate this post.